Male bashing in Barbados (#2): Rihanna’s psychic rift and reality

I am indebted to Rolling Stone magazine for an insightful article that has shone some light on international R&B artist RihannaRihanna’s extraordinary musical endorsement of sadomasochism (S&M) – an extraordinary endorsement, given her much publicized, horrific subjection to violent physical abuse at the hands of ex-boyfriend Chris Browne.

Like many of her fans, I imagine, I have been trying to make sense of the Barbadian singing sensation’s apparent comfort crooning about a passion for pain when the stain of Brown’s assault is probably still a scourge on her psyche.

I have been wondering, could her decision to do the Number One hit single S&M be part of a healing strategy – consciously or unconsciously pursued by the 23 year old star? Could it be an act of denial or defiance: her way of saying to Browne and to the world you didn’t and/or can’t hurt me?

And I have been wondering further, just lately, if this clearly most internationally recognizable Barbadian’s behaviour might tell us anything about the Barbadian psyche. Particularly if her story, so far, might be a reflection of Barbadians’ capacity to absorb conflict and violence – a trait of Barbadians, sometimes confused with docility, that I have found myself exploring here and elsewhere, in my own and in other Barbadians’ stories, repeatedly.

The Josh Eells Rolling Stone cover story entitled “Rihanna: Queen of pain” answers my speculation about the emerald-eyed rocking Robyn Rihanna Fenty’s defiant reasoning affirmatively. While all her talk about pain and domination “is about pushing buttons, and the transgressive thrill she gets from being bad” writes Eells “it's also largely defensive.”

We learn of Rihanna’s rationalization in her own words where she says that in the months after the Brown assault "I put my guard up so hard. I didn't want people to see me cry. I didn't want people to feel bad for me. It was a very vulnerable time in my life, and I refused to let that be the image. I wanted them to see me as, 'I'm fine, I'm tough.' I put that up until it felt real."

Not the most convincing testimony, I suppose. Yet one has to admire the clarity with which it suggests this remarkably mature young woman assesses her own motives. A clarity of purpose, I would wager that many spotted when she emerged explosively on the R&B scene in 2001 with “Pon de replay”. Back then many people commented on her seeming level-headedness. As the inevitable questions about how this little island girl would manage her new found fame were raised, there came assurances from Evan Rogers, the producer who discovered her, and the label owner who signed her, Jay-Z, that this youngster is grounded: she is rooted in reality.

I am suggesting that this is a distinctly Barbadian grounding and rootedness in reality. Broadly affirming the community focused acculturation-achievement (success) model or argument advanced by “Outliers” author Malcom Gladwell, I am suggesting that the roots of the resilience Rihanna is now demonstrating and the determination to succeed that preceded and succeeds it are to be found in Barbadians’ adeptness at reconciling conflicting interests historically. I contend it is to be found in our capacity to heal the rifts in our individual and collective psyches.

And Rihanna's story serves another purpose here: an end to which I direct it rather tentatively. It is essentially a matrix for speculation about Barbadians' capacity to inflict pain: the less than heroic - and in some instances, decidedly cowardly - capacity of Barbadians to wield a whip mercilessly. I am suggesting that in this Barbadian "bashment" belle's background and behaviour, we can find useful insights into the phenomenon of male (and female) bashing in Barbados.

Our Caribbean neighbors know something of this cruelty. It has been indellibly impressed upon their collective consciousness by colonial era Barbadian school masters, clergymen (including predecessors of Canon Titus, surely), policemen and other public officials who served as emissaries of imperial Britain in other island territories.

Footnote: "bashment" is a colloguial term used by Barbadians in reference to partying, fetes and related activities - including, dancing, drinking, and even sexual play.

(Continued here: http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/9535098-male-bashing-barbados-3-i-think-therefore-i-jam)